Morris girls fall behind early at DeKalb

DEKALB — With four key players missing, Morris girls basketball coach Luke Windy knew Friday’s game against conference-leader DeKalb would be a struggle.

But the first quarter was a little bit rougher than he expected.

DeKalb (18-3, 7-0 Northern Illinois Big 12 East) jumped out to a 20-2 lead, and the Barbs had five steals in the quarter on its way to a 43-17 victory over the Redskins, who remain winless in league play.

“We knew it was going to be rough,” Windy said.

“When you know you’re short-handed like that, you’re hoping for a closer first quarter obviously.”

In the final three quarters, the Redskins (4-15, 0-7 NI Big 12 East) hung tough with the Barbs, holding DeKalb to four points in the second quarter.

The Redskins scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, and DeKalb only outscored Morris 19-15 in the second half.

“The girls didn’t quit. They kept working, so I it was a good effort from our kids,” Windy said.

“Defensively, we played a little better and we matched up better. We made some improvements during the game, and that’s all we’re hoping for right now.”

Julie Jurasits scored six points and Sydney Corrigan and Jade Fischer each knocked down a three-pointer for the Redskins in the second half of the game.

But that 18-point hole was just too much for Morris to dig out of with a short-handed lineup.

“There’s no reason we couldn’t have been a little better in the first quarter,” Windy said.

“We need to execute better. We had the right game plan, but we just didn’t execute.”